Guest Author: Alexis Rose

Hello, all! Today marks the first entry in our September Spotlight: A whole month of fascinating interviews with marvelous indie authors!

Today, our special guest is Alexis Rose.

Everyone has a story about why they love to write. What’s yours?

Writing came into my life purely by accident. I had never written anything more than letters or birthday cards, until six years ago. A friend of mine wanted to know what it felt like for me living with PTSD. Because it’s such an invisible illness, she was at a loss on how to support me. At the time I was unable to verbalize what it felt like to anyone, let alone to myself. I went home, thought about what I would like to say, and I wrote my first poem. After showing it to her, with tears in her eyes, she told me I had to start writing. I showed the poem to a few other friends, and was invited to collaborate with a couple of artists, using my poetry paired with their artwork. Three successful inspirational books later, I had developed a fierce love of writing. I took the chance to write on my own, and last year my memoir was published.

If there’s a particular book you’re trying to market right now, will you tell us about it?

Untangled, A Story of Resilience, Courage, and Triumph is my story of surviving 20 plus years of unimaginable abuse, that eventually sent me overseas on an impossible task. I repressed the memories of my past until a family tragedy forced me to face what my life had been. A history of abuse, torture, and threats to maintain my silence or be killed that I could no longer deny. This is a book of facing the truth and risking the consequences of breaking the silence. I learn to accept the effects of the trauma that echo through my daily life as PTSD. I bring readers with me on my healing journey to Live not just Survive.

At first I thought my audience would be survivors who have suffered trauma and for the people who support them. (Which encompassed family, friends, caregivers, therapists.) What I have found from the readership and feedback is that Untangled crosses all genres and is for everyone. As adults we have all been through some trauma, on some level. In my book, I talk about what it feels like to go through experiences. While my story may be difficult to read because of some of my experiences, I focus more on how it feels to go through an event. That’s something I seem to have the gift to express. Feelings are universal, but sometimes it’s hard to articulate what is going on inside of us. I’m able to give voice to that, which seems to have connected with the readers.

Most authors in the market nowadays have experienced their fair share of ups and downs. Will you tell us how the positive moments make up for the negative ones?

I refuse to get deterred by the “rejection” of the marketplace. I listen to what feels right as far as marketing goes, and I firmly believe that the opinions of what a person should do to make their book a success is purely their opinion. My idea of success may be different.

There have been and still are so many gifts from Untangled. First of all, it’s been wonderful to have such a large readership across all genres. I have found that I have a voice that is assisting with removing the stigma of mental illness, as well as giving a voice to people who live with chronic illness. The emails, feedback from speaking engagements, reviews on Amazon, and comments on my blog posts have only encouraged me to keep writing, keep talking about the book, stay true to my own voice and above all don’t compare myself to others who use a different way to promote.

I would have never started writing a blog, www.atribeuntangled.com if I hadn’t written my memoir. I was told that I had to start a blog in order to market a book. I never, in my wildest dreams knew the world of connections that awaited me last October when I wrote my first post. Not only have I connected with survivors and mental health professionals, I also have connected with poets, authors, thinkers, travelers, photographers, and other every-day this is what is going on in my world bloggers. I’m a better person because of these connections. Many have read my book, others haven’t but many of these people have changed my life.

I don’t ever take anyone who reads my book for granted. I love getting reviews on Amazon, I love hearing the feedback, I hope that with continued exposure and word of mouth readership grows more and more each month.

If you could say one thing to the whole world, and have each and every person hear you – what would you say? It could be about your books, or anything at all in the whole universe.

Be kind, talk about the things that are uncomfortable to talk about, be compassionate towards others, and please read my book. (that’s 4 things but I made it all one sentence)

Who’s your favorite author? Are you more into modern or classic literature? What do you think of modern literature on the whole?

I’m very inspired by Rumi, Thich Nhat Hanh, and other dharma teachers. I read a lot of books on mindfulness. I absolutely love reading historical fiction. I don’t think I have one author who is my favorite, but I love an author who does their research. I have a pretty good BS meter and don’t like a lot of filler in a book. I’m a person who will sit down with a book and escape into the character’s world. I simply love good books. I read both non-fiction and fiction at the same time. It makes both sides of my brain really happy.

All right, everyone! I hope you’ve enjoyed our interview with Alexis. Her book is obviously very personal to her, and something that can work to help others in trying circumstances — so we wish her nothing but success, nothing but the best! Thank you for joining us today, Alexis.

Hello! Ms. Rose inspired me to forward. I was stuck in my story– one I knew was as rare as here’s, unable to move. She gave me hope and three months ago I pulled the trigger. I’m glad I did but it’s been hard. Like Alexis, I have an unbelievable story about a culture and way of life that few want tainted. I would be so grateful if you would consider my book “The Six-Foot Bonsai” for an introductions. Warmly, Stacy